Over the holidays I don’t like to argue about politics. I accept Donald Trump as my president, and I like the job he’s doing as president. If angry Democrats want to talk about investigations and tax returns, fine, but I’m not going to spend Christmas arguing with them.
After two years and a midterm election, I had hoped some of the hurt feelings from November 2016 would subside. Sadly, many Democrats haven’t gotten over that election but have instead become more unhinged about Trump’s victory.
Somehow, in some way, they are sure the Russians determined our election’s result. Many Democrats will go to their graves believing that Trump cheated Hillary Clinton out of being president. When you point out other factors may have contributed to Hillary Clinton’s defeat, such as being a lousy campaigner or having a total inability to connect with working people, they are unswayed. But her narrow losses in Michigan and Wisconsin weren’t the only winnable states she dropped. She also lost Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and even one congressional district in Maine.
It’s easy to assume Democrats’ inability to accept the results is a symptom of Trump Derangement Syndrome. But this isn’t about Trump. It’s what Democrats do every time they lose. They never admit defeat or concede gracefully.
This movie was played in 2000 with Al Gore. The Democrats couldn’t accept defeat, so America had to go through the spectacle of hanging chads and butterfly ballots.
The same scenario occurred in 2004. Instead of looking for someone who appealed to the heartland, Democrats trotted out a northeastern liberal in John Kerry. When he lost, Democrats took to the floor of Congress to claim Ohio was stolen.
Faced with this madness, I have made a conscientious decision not to argue and debate people who can’t accept outcomes that don’t go their way. That’s their decision. If they want to unfriend me or block me, God bless them. I wish them a happy 2019 — and 2020.
Jeffery McNeil is a columnist for Street Sense.
